He added: "When one looks at the region today, Israeli Arabs are the only Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa that enjoy democratic rights, equality and civil rights."

"I regret that there are extremists among Israeli Arabs and in neighboring countries who have turned the day on which the State of Israel was established, the day on which the Israeli democracy was established, into a day of incitement, violence and rage."

"There is no place for that," the prime minister said.

At the same meeting, National Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau said that "there is a bold connection between Nakba Day and the agreement between Fatah and Hamas - both call for Israel's destruction."

"Whoever shows empathy for the Nakba today will empathize with Holocaust survivors tomorrow," Landau added. "We need to reject Nakba day as a terrorist act that calls for the destruction of the State of Israel."